Most present day automobiles contain an ignition lock mounted in the steering column below the steering wheel. The lock functions both as an ignition cut-off and to prevent turning of the steering wheel. In practice, however, a thief can readily defeat an ignition lock by using a master key or a device which pulls the lock, such as a dent puller, to expose the ignition wires.
Wolo Manufacturing Corporation, the assignee of this application, presently sells a device which protects the ignition lock from tampering. In this device, which is shown and described more fully in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,391, a steering lock protective cover fits over the ignition lock flush against the steering column, and is held firmly against the steering column by a flexible chain element secured at opposite ends of the housing. This device is easy to use and has proven to be extremely effective.
While this device protects the ignition lock, determined automobile thieves have found that it is sometimes possible to bypass the ignition lock altogether, and to gain access to the ignition wires from the side of the steering column opposite the lock.
One way of improving the effectiveness of my anti-theft device against such tampering is disclosed in my pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 802,870. In addition to protecting the steering column ignition lock, this device prevents the operation of the gear shift lever by means of a gear shift lock bar so that, even if the lock is bypassed and the ignition is hot-wired, the car cannot be driven.